The topic of “whole to parts” is pretty central to the Waldorf method of teaching – more than just on the math front, as children advance in age the whole to parts theme is evident in their study of zoology and botany as well as other places in the curriculum.  When we teach using whole to parts, it is easy for the children to pick up everything around them as a whole.  For instance the number 12 doesn't stand alone, many things come together to make up 12, and 12 is also a component of many other larger parts.  12 can be 6 X 2, it can be 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2, it can be 4 X 3 - in our story we are looking at 12 as part of 48.  I hope you will enjoy how it comes together.

Today we are focusing on the introduction of math to a child in grade one.  I like to start the introduction with Roman numerals during the tail end of the letter introduction block via the container story I wrote for the grade, and then do a combination...

Common questions:

I came across this great Steiner quote today that I wanted to share.  Really, to me, it comes down to whether or not you have a strong testimony of this method of education - do you believe Steiner's work to be inspired... if your answer is yes then trust nature.  If however you do not have a testimony of his work, then you may need to stand back and evaluate things for yourself.  Now I don't believe that in this text he is addressing those who naturally read on their own, only the abstract nature of teaching a young child to read before giving them an artistic, living background through writing and pictures first.  Plus one other VERY important thing to remember when you begin comparing your child to Johnny down the street is that reading is a process.  Johnny's teacher might say that he can...

What is the importance of fairy tales in Waldorf education?

I get this question a lot, some of those Grimm's tales are so dark to adults and parents are often concerned about giving them to their children. We have some great information in our grade one curriculum about these stories. There is also some wonderful information at the Waldorf library, I pulled some articles here to ponder:

The Value of Grimm's Fairy Tales

Choosing Fairy Tales for Different Ages

The Interpretation of Fairy Tales

Fairy Tales and Legends



The full video of Ms. Tiffany and I's conversation is available on our Patreon.

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